//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Ruins of Canterlot // by heavyweaponspony //------------------------------// Chapter 1 I rubbed my eyes and sat up. I clumsily opened the saddlebag lying beside the cot with my hooves, levitating a water bottle out and lifting it my muzzle. I sipped the stale water and prepared to rise from the cot, glancing around the compartment and listening to the soft drumming of helicopter blades. The other cots mounted on the metal walls in the back of the compartment were unoccupied, save for the one where Sky Shard slept soundly. My two other patrol mates stood near the front of the compartment, near the door to the cockpit. Blaze Rush nodded a greeting, and I politely returned it. I slid on my barding and approached the side of the transport, where two windows provided a view of the area we were above. I looked down upon fields where carrots, celery stalks, and flowers grew, just outside the little town of Ponyville. My eyes followed railroad tracks that led from the tiny village to the mountain that held the capital of Equestria. The helicopter was slowly approaching the massive city of Canterlot. The city looked like shelves attached to a mountain. There were four levels. The one at the top, known as "Old Canterlot", consisted of the Royal Palace and about 100 extravagant, colorful buildings owned by the richest ponies in Equestria. This part of the city was simply jutting out of the mountain. The three lower levels, or "New Canterlot", were sheets of magically reinforced steel and concrete held up by huge metal pillars. They were a sprawling metropolis. The helicopter descended towards a tall steel building on the highest level of New Canterlot. Two pegasi in Special Pegasus Service barding stood next to a helipad on the roof of the building, and watched us approach. As the helicopter lowered itself onto the platform, the pegasi greeted us with. "Welcome back," one of the pegasi shouted, barely audible over the roar of the chopper. "Have fun in the Everfree Forest?" I stepped out of the helicopter, followed by the rest of my patrol. After the four of us were on the ground, the helicopter took off again. "How did the raid go?" one of the pegasi asked. "I can see that there were no casualties." "We took out the targets," I replied. I did not see a need to elaborate yet, so I simply trotted to the rooftop elevator. I stepped off of the lift onto the hallway's beige carpeted floor. The hallway extended for only a few yards, with only two doors, one on each side, to break up the deep blue walls. The door on the left was labeled "Major Warwing," while its counterpart on the right read "Communication Center." I turned to the door on the left and knocked lightly. The door opened soon after, with the room's sole occupant, an old brown pegasus with a graying black mane, standing on the other side. "Sergeant Nightwatcher, Mobility Troop, Patrol Alpha," I reported, saluting. "Returning from Everfree Forest," the major said, nodding. "Come on in, I need a full report of the results of the raid." I entered the office. It was a plain office room, with carpet and walls matching the hallway and little furnishing other than the commander's desk and a few chairs. Warwing sat down behind the desk and picked up a cigar, lighting it and sticking it in his mouth, under his dark mustache. He moved a few papers and picked up a pen. "So, Sergeant... looks like this was a rather important mission," he said. "Some artillery guns poised to barrage Canterlot are no minor issue. How did the raid go?" "We infiltrated the rebel facility easily and sabotaged the artillery guns," I explained. "While our demolitions expert was working on the weapons, I found some information that I thought would be of use." I pulled the folder of enemy documents out of my saddlebags and handed the information on Talon III artillery guns to him. "This is apparently the artillery they ordered and stationed in the facility. I believe they are Griffon-made." "Interesting... 172mm rounds..." he muttered. "How did they get a supply of weapons that use extremely explosive Chaos magic shells?" "Here is more information," I told him. I handed him the messages I'd recovered and the inventory document. "We managed to take out the four Talon III's in that sector, but if those documents are correct, they have 12 more artillery guns and are planning to fire them in about 11 days." The major looked distressed. "With 12 Talon III's, they could easily decimate Canterlot." He shook his head. "But how could they get 16 state of the art Griffon artillery guns, plus a supply of Chaos-imbued 172mm shells? They couldn't possibly have enough funds," he wondered. He put the documents in his desk and continued, "Thank you, Sergeant. Report back here tomorrow morning, you have one day of leave for your efforts. We will make sure to deal with this." I nodded and turned to leave. I walked up to the quartermaster's desk. A yellow pegasus stallion looked at me and muttered, "Hello Sergeant. Heard you were successful in your last mission. Good to know that we're safe from those big bad rebel cannons." I told him I had a day off, and he nodded. I handed my sub-machine gun and combat knife over, but he stopped me when I put my Bronco Hi-Power on the desk. "Major says there's a lot of rebel infiltrators around, so keep your sidearm," he explained. I nodded. "He also said to wear your armored barding, even in public, so you're ready if you need to respond to an emergency." He chuckled. "Just him being paranoid, if'ya ask me, but he's the Major." I trotted to the lift, waiting for the door, and looked out the window. I was a floor or two above the average building height in Canterlot, so I could see the roofs of much of the magnificent city. Ponies were moving through the streets, heading to work or walking to the store. A couple of fillies chased each other down the street, annoying a few pedestrians. Suddenly, a burst of red appeared a few blocks away. The flames roared into the sky and I felt the floor shiver in fear. I recognized the harsh boom of an explosion. Before I had time to realize what was happening, the floor started violently shaking as another explosion occurred, much louder this time. The S.P.S. tower was swaying back and forth, and I was thrown against the wall as the floor started to collapse from beneath my hooves. I fell through the gap in the floor, expecting to land but finding that the floor below did not exist. I hit a metal beam, feeling sudden pain ripple through my chest. However, almost as soon as I had landed on the beam, I was falling again. I tried to stop my descent with telekinetic magic, but my magic failed me at the second. I kept falling, hitting pieces of debris. Finally, I found what must be the ground, greeting it with a loud thud and a lot more pain. I tried to open my eyes, but my vision was in four different places at once, which was strange because I was certain I had only two eyes. Once my vision finally focused, I noticed that I was in a pile of rubble, with one front hoof trapped under a chunk of cement. I glanced at the final remnants of the crumbling military building above me just in time to see a huge piece of rubble fall. I awoke slowly, aching all over. I was breathing heavily, and I could feel blood trickling along my side. I looked to see part of my navy blue coat that showed through the barding I wore tinted red. I tried to move, but a slab of rubble was covering my entire flank and hind hooves, and it was heavy enough to keep me pinned in the pile of plaster, cement, and metal. I attempted to lift the slab with magic, but my telekinesis was not powerful enough to be of any help. I felt more pain as the rubble continued to press into my flank. My breathing got heavier, but slower, and darkness crept into my vision. I closed my eyes and lost my hold on consciousness.